February is Black History Month, let us take a moment to recognize Black Americans’ contributions to the field of medicine. Today we will learn about Dr. Robert Bragg, he was nominated by Michelle Jacobs-Elliott, M.D.
Dr. Bragg was a professor and dean of the Office of Minority Affairs at the University of Miami. His contributions to medical education reach our department, he and his office at the University of Miami played an instrumental role in the training and support of our very own Dr. Jacobs-Elliott who is now assistant dean of Diversity & Health Equity and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida.
Dr. Robert Bragg
Dr. Bragg received a Bachelor of Science in 1936 from Florida A&M University, and a Master of Arts from Boston University, he graduated cum laude from Harvard School of Public Health with a Master of Science and a Doctorate from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columiba University in 1952.
After receiving his Bachelor of Science, he taught biology and science at the old Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida. Later he was drafted in the U.S. Army and served in World War II.
In 1973 he joined the faculty at the University of Miami Medical School as an associate professor of psychiatry and dean for the Office of Minority Affairs. He served as chairman of the Medical School Admission Committee, worked on an evaluation of the admissions process to study how students performed after acceptance to medical school, worked on curriculum related to behavioral sciences as needed and aided in student counseling for minority students.
As a gifted and talented person, Dr. Bragg joined the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., was a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a Fellow in the American Public Health Association and in the American Psychiatric Association. On Nov. 1, 1991, his name was added to the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame for men’s tennis.
Michelle Jacobs-Elliott, M.D.
Dr. Jacobs-Elliott began her academic career by receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Florida. She then pursued a Medical Degree at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. After graduating from the University of Miami, she completed her psychiatry residency, as well as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the University of Florida. She currently works at the Student Health Care Center as a staff Psychiatrist.
Recently, Dr. Jacobs-Elliott was co-chair of a search committee for a Counseling and Wellness Center Psychiatrist position. She has also participated in various presentations on topics such as Depression in African American Women, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Mental Health Issues for Women. She plans to continue these in the future. Dr. Jacobs’s involvement with the Minority Mentors Program for the university has given her an opportunity to meet with undergraduate freshmen students as well as other university professors and staff from various departments. Due to these contacts she has also done some consulting with a member of the College of Nursing. In the future she plans to continue her service to the university by becoming involved with the admissions process for the University of Florida College of Medicine.